


Disconnected

by palewaves (orphan_account)



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Awkwardness, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 11:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8530900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/palewaves
Summary: While asking his neighbor for the Wi-Fi password, Tyler accidentally says "I love you" when he hangs up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> edit 11/22/17: wow i just realized i had written this on a whim over a year ago and somehow 800+ people read it that's insane  
> based on a tumblr prompt i can't find anymore. thank you for reading lads

Tyler had just moved into his apartment when he realized he had no wifi.

The previous night he had flopped onto his air mattress in his dark bedroom, too exhausted to actually care about anything. Dragging boxes up two flights of stairs without any help was a difficult job, and he was already tired due to a lack of energy drinks that morning. So of course he had to forget that there wasn't any way to access the internet without sucking up all of his data in an hour.

The next day at ten o' clock, he sat down at the kitchen counter after pouring milk in his stale bowl of Cheerios. Instinctively he took out his phone and opened up Twitter to see what everyone was doing. Shoveling cereal into his mouth, he waited for the tiny white bird icon to disappear and his timeline to show up. Instead it remained blank with three words at the top glaring up at him.

_"No Internet Connection."_

Tyler choked on his cereal. How could he forget something so important, so critical? His data was turned off to avoid using it all up in a day and he didn't have a router. Groaning, he set his spoon down and took his phone into both hands. If he didn't have wifi then he would have to find it for himself. If there's a will, there's a way, right?

He opened up the settings application and waited for the available networks. Tyler refreshed the page a few times until some suggestions popped up. He frowned. There were only three options, titled: _Memefucker69_ , _Yell asshole for password_ , and _dj spooky jim_. The first two had a weak signal, only one bar. The last one, though, had a full signal. Finally, he was saved! Tyler quickly tapped at the name and waited for it to connect. For the second time that day, a disappointing message appeared on the screen.

_"Enter Password."_

"For fuck's sake!" Tyler yelled.

He considered his options. He could use his data very carefully, which wouldn't happen. Tyler often stayed on social media for hours on end until he forced himself to get up, mostly for food or to go to the store to buy food. Going over the data plan wasn't a smart choice; his parents paid for it and they'd just cancel it if he were to charge them extra. 

The second option was to not use the Internet at all. That wasn't possible either. There's absolutely _no way_ he could survive without being connected to what's happening in the world for that long. He probably couldn't even scrape enough money together for a router until he got a decent-paying job. 

Sure, Tyler was being stupid. Why couldn't he find a job instead? What about reading a book? Going outside for once? 

He couldn't, because this was the Internet.

Tyler's gaze traveled to the fridge which had a single piece of paper held onto it with a magnet. The neighbor from upstairs had dropped by the next day to give him a warm welcome and his phone number in case he needed help with anything. Maybe, just maybe he was willing to give Tyler wifi.

He shrugged and snatched it off the fridge. He took out his phone and dialed in the number, hardly legible in a messy scrawl.

As the phone rang, his palms began to sweat. What if the neighbor didn't want to talk to him? What if he thought Tyler was just being silly and would reject him? Would he ever want to speak to him again? 

His thoughts were interrupted by a click on the other line and a voice saying, "Hello?" 

Tyler gulped. "H-Hey!" he said way too cheerily, "I need some help with something."

"Oh, okay! What is it?" 

"Um... well, there's this... project thing I need to do and I don't have any wifi." Tyler internally groaned, facepalming himself. He was a horrible, horrible liar and sounded dumb already. 

There was a pause on the other line. Tyler gulped. "Okay... do you need to use mine? You can come over or something." 

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Yeah! Thanks." 

"Alright, I'm apartment five on floor two if you didn't know already. See ya soon." 

"Bye," Tyler said automatically. "Love you." 

Realizing what he did, Tyler clapped a hand over his mouth. Expecting the other man to hang up, instead he _laughed,_ a wheezy, beautiful laugh. Tyler thanked whatever gods that were out there for this man's kindness. 

"I'm so sorry! I just—" He squeaked, his face flushing red. 

"Don't worry, we've all done it at some point." The guy laughed again. 

Tyler laughed along with him despite his slip-up earlier. "Yeah. Thanks, by the way." 

"Okay, I'll see you later."

All Tyler could think about was his laugh on the way up the stairs.


End file.
